In the Days After
by hammergal
Summary: A love destined to be. The beginning.


Silence. Smothering, dark silence. Every night it was the same. Kate would awaken and only the silence would greet her. The quiet hum of the radios' static had become white noise to her, she no longer even heard it unless she thought to do so. The only time the silence at night was broken was by the moans and hoarse cries when John's nightmares became all too real. 

John.

She turned slightly to gaze at his face, peaceful now in undisturbed sleep. The room was illuminated only the soft glow of a small battery powered lamp in the corner. There were no windows to let in the light of the moon which probably couldn't have been seen through the thick haze of nuclear fallout.

Nuclear fallout. Kate still couldn't believe that's what blanketed the world right now. She hadn't seen it but she knew it was there. One year ago almost to the day the bombs had fallen. She and John, standing in the fallout shelter called Crystal Peak, listening to the frightened voices on the radios, calling for help that would never come. They had stood there, hand in hand, knowing the world they knew had ended, knowing that destiny had brought them here, that they were meant to be together. To survive together.

At first they were both too numb to comprehend their fate. They spent the hours searching the shelter for food, clothing, all that they needed to live through the terrible days until they could leave the inside of the mountain and try to reclaim what was left of their world. But that time had not yet come.

The radios had faded to static, they left them on at low volume. Every day they listened for some sign that humanity was still out there. They knew others had to have survived but all lived hunkered down now, waiting for it to be safe. So they days passed, it was hard to tell time, they knew only by the clocks and calendars on the computers. There was no night and day, only the artificial light powered by the generators that hummed constantly. But they were still alive.

And destined to be husband and wife. And leaders of the resistance to come. Kate felt strange at first, knowing John was to be her husband. She didn't really even know him but as the days passed, he filled her head with the stories of his life - his fate, his parents' story, the terrifying accounts of his encounters with the Terminators. She knew all there was to know and then one day she realized that he was not only in her head but her heart as well. She wanted to fill that lonely place in his heart from all the terrible losses he had suffered. And she wanted him to fill her lonely heart, too. She had lost all as well. All that remained was each other.

It started with little touches. Gentle caresses as they lay in bed at night, needing to feel human touch in a world that felt devoid of humanity. They clung to one another, desperate to feel as one even before they realized they were falling in love. They felt like Adam and Eve, no one else existed for them. All had been taken away.

Finally the night came when caresses became urgent, when the need for each other was so strong they felt consumed by it. His hands, his mouth were everywhere on her body and she clutched him to her, desperate to have him fill her emptiness. When he entered her, she felt so complete, her eyes filled with unshed tears and her love for him seemed like a fire spreading throughout her body and reaching to her soul. He moaned and thrust into her like he could never be close enough until at last they reached the pinnacle and lay gasping in each other's arms. John buried his head against her shoulder for a moment then lifted his head and covered her mouth with his, kissing her until they had no breath. He stared into her eyes and then whispered, "I love you, Kate, God how I love you." It seemed so natural she didn't even have to think about it, whispering back, "I love you, John Conner."

Since then, they had spent countless nights loving one another with a passion that grew and took them away from the unending loneliness and despair that threatened them. Kate knew that when the day came when they could walk out of their exile, they would walk hand in hand, bound by a love destined to be. Their future was uncertain, like a light shining through mist, clear but without an end they could see. The Terminator had given them a glimpse of the future to come and they knew one day it would begin. Of one thing though they were certain. The love that had grown from ashes as like the Phoenix, destined to fly and soar. They would take back their world from the machines.

Together.


End file.
